Social Media 101
Leveraging Social Media for Sports Marketing
An Introduction
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hectoralejandro/3499429624http://www.flickr.com/photos/jancyclops/4302613514 http://www.flickr.com/photos/localandbitter/sets/72157601501234353/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/zacheverson/2259577982/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/24704473@N07
Social Media is…
But…
not really.
You Can’t Leverage Social Media!
Until “Fan Loyalty” is defined as you being loyal to your fans – your organization will not use social media in it’s most impactful way.
Social Media really is a large, emerging conversation that is…
powered by…
“Your fans are the message”-
Marshall McLuhan(sort of)
“The medium is the message” guy
• Conversations among human beings sound human. They are conducted in a human voice.
• The Internet is enabling conversations among human beings that were simply not possible in the era of mass media.
• These networked conversations are enabling powerful new forms of social organization and knowledge exchange to emerge.
Building Fan LoyaltyFront offices being loyal to their fans!
The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual: Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Searls, David Weinberger; Perseus Books ©2000
http://images12.fotki.com/v212/photos/1/134799/3424959/superfan-vi.jpg?1173438754
• The front office must talk to the people with whom they hope to create relationships.
• To speak with a human voice, front offices must share the concerns of their communities.
• “If you want us to talk to you, tell us something. Make it something interesting for a change.”
• “We have better tools, more new ideas, no rules to slow us down. We are waking up and linking to each other.”
Building Fan LoyaltyFront offices being loyal to their fans!
http://img.stern.de/_content/52/90/529061/Fan_Eisschnellauf400_400.jpg
People have had a taste of two-way conversations around your brand. They won’t wait for you.
Broadcast Media
Social Media
creativescritics
joiners
spectators
one-way
http://www.swimwatch.net/uploaded_images/coach-yelling-at-athlete-716268.jpg
http://www.fitzroyjuniorfc.com.au/2008/Images/Week%206%20-%20U10%20Green/GroupHuddle_Coach.jpg
In social media, you might be the topic of conversation without being the center of it
You will have to give up some control of your message in order to gain more influence.
BROADCASTMEDIA
SOCIALMEDIA
Differences in Tactics
BROADCASTFront Office in Control
One Way / Delivering a Message
Repeating the Message
Focused on the Brand
Educating
Front Office Creates Content
SOCIAL MEDIAFans in Control
Two way / Being Part of a Conversation
Adapting the Message
Focused on the Fans / Adding Value
Influencing, Involving
User Created Content / Co-creation
Source: Slide 10 from "What's Next In Media?" by Neil Perkin
A Helpful Metaphor
The world’s largest outdoor cocktail party
Approach #1
Approach #2
annoying, impersonal,forces permission
natural, human, authentic, requests permission
http://images.dailyradar.com/media/uploads/ballhype/story_large/2009/03/12/nfl_logo.jpg
Resist AutomationOnce a communication system
becomes automated…
- efficiency is built into delivery
- more communication can be done for less
- messages are crafted for demographic groups
- the communications sounds less human
- the communication channel becomes less effective and more ignored
Yeah!
Yipee!
Good.
Oops!
Uh-oh!
Consider What is Happening to Email
• How many email addresses have you had?• Why do you have multiple, how is each used?• If your organization asked you for your email address,
which one would you give them?
Thinking Things Through
Objectives
Audience Constraints
Strategy
Tactics
Audience
Source: Beth Kanter, from 10/08 Share Our Strength presentation
Who are they?Where will I find them online?How do they use the social web?What are they talking about?What are they wanting?
Image: http://blog.pandora.com/pandora/archives/sports-fans.jpg
Who is your audience?
Source: Forrester, Groundswell
Who is your audience?
Source: Forrester, Groundswell
Who is your audience?
Source: Forrester, Groundswellhttp://www.forrester.com/Groundswell/profile_tool.html
Objectives• Ticket Sales?• Brand Equity?• Fan Experience?• Customer Service?• Other?
PICK ONE OBJECTIVE TO START WITHNotice that “press release outlet” is not on the list
Constraints
• Budget?• Communication policies?• What is non-negotiable?
• Personnel?• Personnel experience?• Personnel time capacity?
StrategyRemember this is all based on building loyalty and trust!
• Listening strategies?• Engagement strategies?• Motivation strategies?
Questions in preparing your organization to listenWho will do the listening and responding?
What is your response policy to criticism/praise/questions?
How much time is allocated?How will you analyze and share results?
What are the benchmarks to measure usefulness?
Beth Kanter, Listening Literacy
Online Listening
Online ListeningKeyword Search Suggestions
• Organizational Name• Peer names in your space
• Other peers with similar sounding names• Program/Services/Event Names
• Owner, GM or well known associated personalities• Brand or tagline
• URLs of your online properties• Industry terms or phrases related to your mission
• Your known strengths and weaknesses
Beth Kanter, Listening Literacy
Social Media Listening
RSS Readers(Choose)
Blog Searches-Technorati.com-Icerocket.com-Alltop.com
Keyword Search Feeds-RSS search.twitter.com-RSS Google Alerts
Detail Searches-Summize.com-Socialmention.com-Del.icio.us-Boardreader.com
Participate• Ask questions• Comment on others blogs posts• Compliment others content• Forward and link to others content
Generate Buzz• Open profiles on social bookmarking
and crowd-sourcing sites like digg and stumbleupon
• Bookmark content you like and share your profile
• Promote others content through services like digg, mixx and newsvine
Share Content• Take time to create content that
address any recurring questions your fan base is asking.
• Listen for where and when your content can be used to help a conversation or answer a question.
• Answer the questions by directing people to the content you have created.
• Host contests, quizzes and giveaways directly in these spaces. Draw in non-baseball fans because of your respected use of the tool.
• Develop strategy and tactics for mascots, play-by-play, concessions, players, coaches
TacticsFinally, consider the tools for• Listening• Participating• Sharing Your Story
• Spreading Awareness • Generating Buzz• Social Networking For
Motivation and Action
Tactics and Tools over Time
Listen Participate
Community Building &
Social Networking
Generate Buzz
Less Time More Time
5hr 10hr 15hr 20hr
ShareContent
Adapted from Beth Kanter
Giving Up Control• Not all content is precisely
right, but the majority is generally right.
• Not all of your interaction will be positive or favorable.
Source:firstgiving presentation, Using social media to expand your fundraising horizonsImage: http://paultan.org/photo/albums/2009-honda-city-malaysia/Steering%20Wheel.jpg
• How you respond to criticism will say a lot about you and your organization.
• Pick your battles and be willing to apologize when necessary.
Suggested Online Bibliography
• SportsNetworker - http://www.sportsnetworker.com• Take A Peck- • http://www.jasonfpeck.com/• The Business of Sports -
http://www.thebusinessofsports.com/• Sports Marketing 2.0 -
an open online community moderated by Pat Coyle of http://www.patcoyle.net
http://www.sportsmarketing20.com/
Social Media Strategic Planning
Strategic Planning for the Sports Front Office
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hectoralejandro/3499429624http://www.flickr.com/photos/jancyclops/4302613514 http://www.flickr.com/photos/localandbitter/sets/72157601501234353/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/zacheverson/2259577982/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/24704473@N07
Audience Description - Typical ticket buyer is…
Primary Objective - Off-season fan engagement
Secondary Objective - Off-season fan relations
Known Constraints- Staff - 2 Daily Time Allotment - 30 min Budget- $0 Existing SM Policies- No policy manual
Summary of Strategy -
1/12th - News Outlet 11/12th - Fan cultivation and engagementContent discovery and republication, focusing on constituent-centric engagement strategy that attempts to maintain an 12 to 1 ratio of updates that focus on friends/followers
Northwoods League, Social Media Basic Strategic Engagement Plan
Audience, Objectives, Constraints and Strategy
Northwoods League, Social Media Basic Strategic Engagement Plan
General Tactical Notes-Google Reader
Google Reader-keywords *org name *programs and events *Owner, GM, Coach *other teams in space *URLs of site and blog *industry terms related to local fan interest*Subscribe to key bloggers in your space AVOID GENERAL TERMS.
Find New Blogs:Technorati.com
Alltop.comIcerocket.com
Northwoods League, Social Media Basic Strategic Engagement Plan
General Tactical Notes-Twitter
Reveal More in Bio• One sentence dedicated to overall mission
• One sentence to explain purpose of twitter presence• One sentence to show authenticity of who is behind
itFor instance…
“Great family baseball experience. Using twitter to connect with fans. You may hear several of our voices
through this profile. Nice to tweet you!”
Best Practices• Background photo should be as fan centric as
possible• Actively seek to reply and retweet others
• Include home page link in the bio
*Follow back all real people *Block spammers and marketers
Find and follow• Individuals who tweet about mission
• Like minded organizations /peers Corporate relations/partners
Don’t follow more than 200 than who is following you until you reach about 1000
followers
Place personal Twitter handle in “Name Field”
Northwoods League, Social Media Basic Strategic Engagement Plan
General Tactical Notes-Twitter
Great Practice• Shows largest following because of
fan expectations• Be more engaging with fans
• Give then an experience, a twitter autograph just for them
Northwoods League, Social Media Basic Strategic Engagement Plan
General Tactical Notes-Update Scheduler - Hootsuite
Top Efficiency TacticUsed to schedule updates to
multiple locations
Feedback and StatsMeasure effectiveness through
easy reports
Northwoods League, Social Media Basic Strategic Engagement Plan
General Tactical Notes-Facebook Profile and Pages In facebook, your personal profile is
the way for you to make initial connections and it gives you the
chance to invite friends to fan pages. Privacy is customizable, but
be willing to be open with most.(Being aware you are on public display is a good
governor when absent a social media policy)
Tutorial to create a custom welcome page for your facebook fan page
Northwoods League, Social Media Basic Strategic Engagement Plan
General Tactical Notes-Blogs and Comments
Use comment management service like Disqus.com
Commenting on other blog posts *What did they say well? *Answer Questions *Relay what others say *Ask “what if ?” *Review history and project future
Top Priority TacticComment early and often on other blog posts that mention your team.
Northwoods League, Social Media Basic Strategic Engagement Plan
General Tactical Notes-Gmail
Gmail account to administrate should be friendly moniker like
"bigteamfan@gmail“
Load email contacts for future friend finding opportunities
(gmail has 10k contact limit so be prepared to setup more than one account)
Annually, refresh these contact lists with a new export from your data.
Monthly, rotate these through your profiles to find new friends to follow
Northwoods League, Social Media Basic Strategic Engagement Plan
General Tactical Notes-YouTube Incorporate Branding
Bio Should Include…• Fan-friendly welcome
• Links to your sites• Full profile of information
Open CommentsFear of negative comments shouldn’t limit you from positive connections
“Subscribe to” and “Add as Friend” all peer organizations and individual who produce content around your mission.
Northwoods League, Social Media Basic Strategic Engagement Plan
Schematic Workflow
Northwoods League, Social Media Basic Strategic Engagement Plan
Tactical MatrixTACTICAL MATRIX - Infrastructure Tactics Listening
TacticsContent
TacticsFriend/Follow
Tactics Engagement Tactics
Overall
SET UP – YouTube channel SET UP - Hootsuite.com SET UP - Gmail account for admin/signups SET UP – Disqus - Comment moderation efficiency
SET UP - GoogleReader - Read/Scan Alert feeds - 10 Minutes M,R
Others Found Content scheduled for daily publish thru Hootsuite - 8 Minutes M,R Cross Promote in specific channels with other channels on rotating basis 3 Minutes W
Find and follow (in FB/Tw) constiuents, using gmail contact list - 10 Minutes every other F
Blog Specific
SET UP - WordPress to HootsuiteSET UP – Add “comments with #” link to front page entries, Add “Blog” nav to homepagesSET UP - WordPress to Disqus
Technorati.com keyword search, blogs fed to Google Reader - 5 Minutes T
Existing Internal Strategy Google alert and Technorati.com discovered blogs fed to Google Reader - 3 Minutes T
Comment on others discovered blog posts- 15 Minutes T
Facebook (Profile)
Specific
Scan recent newsfeed for mission oriented content being shared 3 Minutes F
Reshare any discovered content (attributing it to the friend who you discovered it from) with facebook @reply 2 Minutes F
Scan friend requests and approve all real people, block spammers, ignore others- 1 Minute daily
Engage informally with full awareness of your blended online persona- Unscheduled Daily
Facebook (Pages)
Specific
SET UP - Hootsuite to Northwoods League fan page
Scanning read of wall and discussion board comments- 2 Minutes Daily
Invite recent Profile friends to fan pages, with status update rotate biweekly invite to various fanpages - 5 Minutes every other F
Reply to any comments, questions or discussions- 2 Minutes Daily
Twitter Specific
SET UP - Hootsuite to Northwoods League twitter SET UP - Keyword searches in Hootsuite
SET UP - Keyword searches to Google Reader - Scanning read @replies or Direct messages- 2 Minutes Daily
Scan followers and follow back all real people, block spammers, ignore others- 1 Minute daily
Reply to any @Reply or DM- 2 Minutes Daily RT content, @reply user (and follow user) from keyword hootsuite searches 5 Minutes M,R
YouTube SpecificSET UP - Establish standing request for native video from all internal sources SET UP - YouTube to Hootsuite
Monitor comments on uploaded videos- 5 Minutes W
Upload native videos with full description and tags - 10 Minutes W
Youtube.com keyword search and subscribe to mission oriented content providers- 5 Minutes W
Northwoods League, Social Media Basic Strategic Engagement Plan
Daily Tasks and TimeMonday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Google Reader
Read/Scan -10 add feeds - 3 comment on blogs - 15
Read/Scan -10
HootsuiteSchedule Updates -8 RT and Follow - 5
Schedule Updates -8 RT and Follow - 5
Facebook Profile
accept friends - 1 accept friends - 1 accept friends - 1 accept friends - 1 friend using gmail – 10 every other weekscan newsfeed/ reshare - 2 accept friends - 1
Facebook Fan Page
read/reply to comments - 4
read/reply to comments - 4
read/reply to comments - 4
read/reply to comments - 4
read/reply comments - 4 invite friends to fan - 5 every other fri
Reply to @ & DM - 4 Follow back - 1
Reply to @ & DM - 4 Follow back - 1
Reply to @ & DM - 4 Follow back - 1
Reply to @ & DM - 4 Follow back - 1
friend using gmail – 10 every other weekReply to @ & DM - 4 Follow back -1
YouTube Monitor comments - 5
Upload vids - 10 search/subscribe - 5
Technorati search for feeds - 5
Overview cross promote - 3
33 33 33 33 28
Northwoods League, Social Media Basic Strategic Engagement PlanTask Order - Tool Tutorials
gmail.com - may need more than one- sign up with name equivalent of “[email protected]”- also get NorthwoodsLeaguefan2, NorthwoodsLeaguefan3- load contact list from csv file (limit to 10,000 contacts per email account)
hootsuite.com - signup with primary gmail account- connect personal twitter, team twitter, facebook fan pages,
facebook personal profile- feed YouTube RSS to Hootsuite on RSS/Atom tab http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/users/username/uploads
-set keyword search columns- video tutorial – Setting up a hootsuite account
-video tutorial – Hootsuite has a $1.99 iphone app
Google.com/reader - signup with primary gmail account- import known blog RSS feeds and keyword alert feeds- video tutorial – Using Google Reader
Northwoods League, Social Media Basic Strategic Engagement PlanTask Order - Tool Tutorials
youtube.com - signup with primary gmail account-setup teamYouTube channel with matching username
disqus.com - signup with primary gmail account-setup disqus profile and replace blog comment system
Discover New Bloggersalltop.com - become familiartechnorati.com - become familiaricerocket.com - become familiar
User Names - bring usernames into alignment - http://namechk.com/
Northwoods League, Social Media Basic Strategic Engagement Plan
Tactical MatrixTACTICAL MATRIX - Infrastructure Tactics Listening
TacticsContent
TacticsFriend/Follow
Tactics Engagement Tactics
Overall
Blog Specific
Facebook (Profile)
Specific
Facebook (Pages)
Specific
Twitter Specific
YouTube Specific
Northwoods League, Social Media Basic Strategic Engagement Plan
Daily Tasks and TimeMonday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Google Reader
Hootsuite
Facebook Profile
Facebook Fan Page
YouTube
Technorati
Overview